Inspection companies are key in enforcing and setting the quality standards underpinning
module performance. TÜV Rheinland’s solar segment manager, Lukas Jakisch, tells Will Norman
how they are keeping abreast of the rapid pace of technological change.
Price of polysilicon decreased this week both for p-type and n-type materials with the former dropping below the historic low of US$6.75/kg reached in June 2020.
As PV module technology has evolved, so too have the quality challenges associated with the new technologies that have appeared, matured and been superseded.Fei Lu and Stephen Xuereb of PI Berlin draw on over a decade of experience with an overview of the present trends in module quality assurance and likely future challenges as technology
continues to change.
In the first edition of PV Tech Power ten years ago, our cover article looked at the issue of PV module quality, which had come to the fore after a period of heavy cost-cutting in the industry. Following a decade of technological innovation, the overwhelming dominance of Chinese manufacturers and a global explosion in solar capacity that has seen costs fall dramatically, we are revisiting the issue. Will Norman asks if the seeds for a looming quality problem have already been sown.
